W- carskadon



March 19, 1963 T. w. cARsKADoN, SR Re. 25,357

PANT LEG PRESSING MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 4. 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR 'r w .scARsKADON ATTORNEY March 19, 1963 T. w. cARsKADoN, SRRe. 25,357

PANT LEG PREssING MACHINE .'5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed OCT.. 4,1957 FIG.6

lNVENTOR T W C A R S KADON ATTORNEY March 19, 1963 T. w. cARsKADoN, SRRe 25,357

PANT LEG PREssING MACHINE original Filed oct. 4, 1957 s meets-sheet s lIll'.

i "humm FIG.9

62 IO Il 60 59 60 INVENTOR T W CARSKADN ATTORNEY I atc Reissued Mar. 19,1963 25,357 PANT LEG PRESSING MACHINE Thomas W. Carslradon, Sr., 16Grchard Lane, Columbus 2, Ohio Original No. 2,949,688, dated Aug. 23,196i), Ser. No.

688,197, Oct. 4, 1957. Application for reissue Dec. 8,

1961, Ser. No. 158,653

G Claims. (Cl. Sii-42) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue specialication; matterprinted in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to wearing apparel, to the care and maintenanceof the same in a manner that it will be in fresh and attractivecondition ready to be worn at all times, and particularly to the care ofmens suits, or portions thereof such as the legs of the trousers orpants.

The invention is concerned principally with the pressing of the leg-covering portions of trousers or pants and to `the equipment employedin such pressing operation in order to press commercially or insubstantial volume protably and in a manner to give the articles pressedthe proper appearance.

It has been customary to press trousers or pants in various ways, forexample, with flat irons, steam irons, utility presses and the like, butthese have become unsatisfactory because of their excessive weight,large size, clumsiness, inettciency in operation, as well as the amountof time required and the necessity for skilled labor in their operationand the rising costs of both labor and material.

It is an object of the invention to overcome the problems enumerated andto provide equipment by which the pressing of the legs of trousers orpants can be accomplished with minimum eiort, in a minimum time, byunskilled labor, and at lower cost.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine forsimultaneously pressing bot/z legs of a pair j trousers substantially tothe crotch.

A still further object is to provide supporting pressing bucks .whichwill retain a pair of trousers by both legs without special retainingmeans.

Another object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple andinexpensive pants press by which an increased volume of work can beaccomplished with greater safety and less exposure to heat or otherdiscomfort, Aby unskilled labor and with greater precision andsatisfaction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter which can be readily loaded and unloaded, which can be causedto automatically or manually press trousers `or pants properly without adouble crease or other undesirable impression or condition, and withminimum attention other than the loading and unloading of the machine.

A `further object of the invention is to provide a pants press includinga pressing head and an endless conveyor with individual carriage unitswhich move, step-by-step, in a iixed path respectively to loading,pressing, drying and cooling, and removal stations where they can beloaded, press, cool-dried and subsequently, removed or unloaded, withthe operation continuous, as well as a pants press which willsatisfactorily and thoroughly perform the functions for which designedand thereby satisfy the requirements of the trade.

A further object of the invention is to provide a press having anendless conveyor, with loading and unloading stations where pants can beplaced upon and removed from the conveyor with such loading andunloading stations sufliciently removed from the head to avoid exposureof the operator to excessive heat and with the machine so equipped thatit can be operated manually or automatically.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIG. l is a side elevation illustrating one application of theinvention;

FIG. 2, an end elevation thereof;

FIG. 3, a longitudinal section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4, an enlarged detail of the indexing or driving mechanism;

FIG. 5, a section on the line 5--5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5A, a .section lon the line SA-SA of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6, a vertical section on the line 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7, a schematic diagram illustrating the path of travel of thesteam;

FIG. 8, a perspective of the pressing machine of the present inventionviewed from one end thereof;

FIG. 9, a top plan View of the pressing head with parts removed;

FIG. 10, a side elevation or edge View of the head of FIG. 9;

FIG. l1, a top plan view of the traveling lower carrier or cooperatingpresser member; and

FIG. l2, a side or edge elevation of the carrier of FIG. 11.

Briefly stated the invention contemplates the pressing of a pair ofdiverging trouser legs simultaneously by means of a pair of upper pressheads and a cooperating pair of lower carrier or press members. Theupper press heads are mounted for vertical reciprocation and aresupplied with heating medium while each of the lower carriers or pressheads is connected to a roller in an endless track forming a channel.Movement is produced -by means of an endless chain mounted on sprocketsand driven or moved step by step by a pneumatic cylinder and piston.

The lower cooperating carriers or lower supporting members preferablyare spaced along the track uniformly and are adapted to be brought oneby one beneath the press head. Due to their spacing, when one of thesupporting carriers is beneath the press head, the others are spaced farenough away that they may be approached by an operator without suchoperator being exposed to excessive heat. For convenience a station twosteps away from the presser head on the approach side may be a loadingstation and another two steps away on the departure side may be anunloading station with a cooling and drying station midway between thepressing station and the removal station.

Movement of the conveyor may be done by a driving or indexing mechanismin the form of a reciprocable driving mem-ber such as a piston, thestroke of which corresponds to the distance between the pressing anddrying stations which is one-half the distance each between the loadingand pressing .stations and the pressing and unloading stations. Witheach stroke of the piston, the conveyor is moved one step causing thesupporting members or carriers to travel from the pressing station tothe drying station and on the next stroke to the unloading station.

With continued reference to the drawings, the present invention is apants or trouser leg presser comprising a slightly inclined pair ofpress heads 10, covered by a cloth or similar material, disposed end toend and carried on the lower ends of pistons 11 which are operated bypressure means. The pressure means are carried in housing 13, mounted ona cross-frame 14 on legs or posts 15 and reinforced by braces 16, withthe posts resting on a brace 17.

The press head 1U, the temperature of which is controlled in accordancewith the material pressed, is vertically movable to engage the uppersurface of the trouser or pants leg and in `order to provide cooperativemeans for the complete pressing operation, a series of pairs of clothcovered cooperative trousers supporting or carrying members 18 arepro-vided of corresponding. inclination, each of the carriers 18 havingspaced rounded contiguous ends 19 between which the upper portion of thetrousers is adapted to depend while a trouser leg is disposed ion top ofeach of the carriers 18 in ya po-sition to be engaged by the press headsand to accomplish the pressing operation.

Each of the opposed carriers 18 is mounted on a pair of supports 20` and21, near its opposite ends, with the support 20 carrying the rollers 22located in a channel member 23 forming a track of generally oval-shapeand providing an endless path in which the roller 22 can move. Thesupports 21 likewise carry rollers which are mounted in track 24.

The tracks 23 and 24 are mounted on `frames 25 and 26 respectively andthe frames 2S are lfastened together by connecting members or plates 27,while the -frames 26 are supported by L-shaped legs 28. A protectiveshield 29 is provided `for each side of the machine.

In order to produce a machine on which multiple articles may be handled,a series of pair of such carrier members 118 are provided and thesupports 20; on which one end of such carrier members are mounted, arejoined by a connection 30 to an endless conveyor l31 which may be in theform of a chain or corresponding structure. The conveyor chain 31 ismounted lon a trio of sprockets 32 at each end of the machine onsupports 33 connected by cross-members 34 and 35 which, in turn, areattached to frame members and 26.

With the construction described, the carrier members may be broughtbeneath the press heads one pair at a time, to perform the pressingoperation. The carriers each are connected to the conveyor chains 31 inuniformly spaced relation in order that the .operation may be carried onstep-by-step in properly timed relation. The conveyors remain idle whilethe pressing operation is being accomplished and simultaneous loadingand unloading of the carriers is being performed, and also with 'thestructure providing 4for the drying and cooling of the trousers at thenext pause after they have been pressed.

Means is provided for moving each conveyor with the carriers connectedthereto in two steps or movements between rloading `and pressing andbetween pressing and unloading and with a -drying and cooling stationmid-Way between the pressing and the unloading station, but consequentlyonly one step from each.

In order :to move the carrier members 18 as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and5A there is provided a pneumatic cylinder 36, 4having a piston rod 37with a attened end portion 318 encircling a pin 39. The ends of the pin39 are provided with rollers 40 movably -located in parallel tracks 41supported by brackets 42, attached to tracks 23.

The flattened end portion 38l of the piston rod 37 is provided with aslightly inclined end surface B8. The end portion 38 is connected bymeans of a pivot 40', to a pair of legs attached to a push plate 41which abuts the inclined surface 38 in such a manner that, when thepiston is forced outwardly of its cylinder, the plate 41 will engage therear edges of a pair of carriers 18 and through the conveyor chains 31the other .carriers of the conveyor. On the return stroke of the pistonin its cylinder 36, the plate 41 will ride over the next succeeding pairof such carriers which have been moved by the chains 31 into theposition formerly occupied by the carriers which were pushed. The strokeof the piston is of ya length corresponding to the distance between thepressing and drying stations and approximately one-half the distancebetween the loading and pressing stations and the pressing and unloadingstations.

In order to operate the piston 37 in the cylinder 36, a pair of airlines 43 and 44 are provided having connections at the opposite ends `ofsuch cylinder. The other ends of the lines 43 and 44 are connected to aselector or control valve 45, FIGS. 3 and 4, under the inlluence of anelectric actuator 46, receiving energy from a suitable power sourcethrough conductors 47.

In lorder to raise and lower the press heads 10 iluid is admitted to thecylinders 12 through lines 48` and selector valve 49' under :theinfluence of an electric activator 59, receiving energy from a source ofsupply through conductors S1. Fluid is alternately supplied through thelines 48 and to the opposite ends of the cylinder 12 to raise and Ilowerthe press head 10. A flexible by-pass line 52 is connected to a steamrelease valve mechanism for controlling the steam Ifrom the press head.This operation may be accomplished in various ways, as, for example, byan electrically controlled gate valve 53 receiving electrical energyfrom a source of supply through conductors S4. Such gate valve contro-lsthe liow of lluid through a lconnection 55 to one end of a cylinder 56,containing a piston 57 having a head 58 pivotally connected by a bellcrank lever 59 to a valve 60 which permits t-he escape of ysteam fromthe presser head 10, a spring ML] serving to return the piston 57 to itsinitial position.

Steam is admitted to each of the press heads 10- through a ilexibleinlet pipe 62 from a suitable source and a discharge pipe `63, at thelower end of the press head, is provided for the escape of condensedmoisture. The discharge line 63 may be provided with a manuallycontrolled Valve 64 which can be 'opened periodically to removecondensation. In operation, the press Ihead 10 is forced downwardlyagainst the carrier 18 until time switch 65 attached to frame 15, isengaged by a projection 66 carried by the press -head 10. Time switch 65opens the gate valve S3 and fluid from the by-pass line 52 opens valve169 to permit steam to escape from the press head `for a limited periodafter which the press head is elevated until it comes in contact withthe time switch 67, which ener-gizes the selector switch 46 which, inturn, operates control valve 45 to move the conveyor another step. The

exible inlets 62 are `supplied through a common line 68 from a source ofsteam supply not shown. Steam passes through the press heads 10 thenthrough a llexible return line y69 and steam trap 7l]l back to theboiler or other source of supply through a common line 71.

As disposed in FIGS. 8 and 9, the press head is cornposed of anelongated hollow member slightly narrower at one end and with a concavebottom surface. 'I'he member is composed of upper an-d lower chambers 72and 73 with an intermediate partition 74 and the lower plate is providedwith perfor-ations 75 through Which'steam is discharged onto thetrousers being pressed. Steam is maintained under pressure in the upperchamber 72 until such time as valve 60 moves plunger 60 out ofengagement with its seat and permits steam to be discharged into thelower chamber 73 and out through the perforations 75.

The carrier member 18 is of similar configuration and is provided withsmall openings 76 -for the circulation of steam and for the evacuationof steam between the press head 10' and the -lower cooperating carriermembers 1'8. Also, the carrier support is provided with avalve-controlled evacuating connection 77 for the reception of vacuumnozzles 78 which remove steam from the carrier members to ydry and coolthey trousers after the pressing operation.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes` maybe made in the invention .Without departingV from the spirit and scopethereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which isillustrated in the drawings and described in the specification, but onlyas indicated in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for pressing both legs of a pair of trousers comprising asupport `for the trousers having spaced leg supporting por-tions foreach leg of a pair of trousers, a conveyor carrying said trouserssupport, pressing means including a pressing head for cooperation witheach supporting portion for pressing each leg of the pair of trousersagainst its supporting portion, said conveyor providing means to movesaid trousers support relative to said pressing means whereby a pair oftrousers can be placed on said support without interference from saidpresser means with the trousers legs overlying the support portions, andmeans to simultaneously move said presser heads toward the cooperatingsupport portion when the support portions and the trousers beingsupported thereon are in juxtaposition to said presser heads.

'2. 'I'he invention according to claim 1 in which the trousers supporthas the supporting portions in generally horizontal end to end relationspaced apart a distance to receive the body of the trousers between thesupport portions so such body of the trousers may hang down |by gravitybetween said support portions while the trousers legs are supported onthe support portions whereby both legs may ybe pressed simultaneously.

3. The invention according to `claim l in which the conveyor is made ofendless elements and the [trouser supports are] trousers support ismounted on said endless elements and the supporting portions are spacedapart a distance to permit the tbody of the ltrousers to hang down bygravity between said support portions while the trousers legs aresupported on .the support portions lwhereby both legs may `be pressedsimultaneously.

4. A machine for simultaneously pressing rboth legs of a pair oftrousers comprising a support for the trousers having spaced legsupporting portions for each leg of a pair of trousers, said legsupporting portions having their crotch ends closely spaced to receivethe collapsed waist portion of a pairv of tro-users, movable mountingmeans carrying said trousers support, pressing means including apressing head for cooperation with each supporting portion for pressingeach .leg of the pair of trousers against its supporting portion, saidmovable mounting rneans providing means to move said trousers supportrelative to said pressing means whereby a pair of trousers can be placedon said support without interference from said presser means `With thetrousers legs overlying the support portions, and means simultaneouslyto move said presser heads toward the lcoopera-ting support portion whenthe support portions and the trousers being supported thereon are injuxtaposition to said presser heads.

5. A machine for simultaneously pressing both pant legs of a pair oftrousers comprising a rst generally planar horizontally extendingsupporting member for one leg of a pair of trousers, said supportingmem-ber for one leg of a1 pair of trousers being of a length and widthto completely support one pant leg to the crotch, a second generallyplanar horizontally extending supporting member for the other leg of apair of trousers, said supporting member for the other leg of a pair oftrousers being of a length and width to completely support the otherpant leg to the crotch, the crotch end of said first supporting memberbeing spaced from the crotch end of said second supporting member asucient distance to receive the waist portion of the trousers from thecrotch to the waistband while assuring support of the trousers legssubstantially to the crotch, said Jrst and second supporting membersbeing substantially in longitudinal alignment, a Jrst pressing headmounted above the yrst supporting member, a second pressing head mountedabove the second supporting member, means to relatively move saidpressing heads and said supporting members together in pressingengagement to simultaneously press both legs of a pair of trousers.

6. The invention according lo claimy 5 in which the trousers legsupporting members have their crotch ends at a higher elevation than theouter ends.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 22,937 Bicknell et al. No-v. 25, 1947 865,263Moe Sept. 3, 1907 1,721,316 Pribil July 16, 1929 1,841,005 Braun Jan.12, 1932 1,851,467 Tanner Mar. 29, 1932 1,896,518 Johnson Feb. 7, 19331,942,254 McGowan Jan. 2, 1934 2,388,392 Davies NOV. 6, 19415 2,765,549Binns et al. Oct. 9, 1956 2,931,546 Brunier Apr. 5, 1960 2,994,978Skovira Aug. 8, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 476,537 Canada Aug. 28, 1951

